


Nothing to lose

by dianamoth (lunaemoth)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25052092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaemoth/pseuds/dianamoth
Summary: Yuuri and Victor are in the same hotel during the competition of the Grand Prix Final. They meet the night before the Free Skate, and it changes everything.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 1
Kudos: 179





	Nothing to lose

**Author's Note:**

> I was doing some clean-up in my drafts, and I rediscovered several half-finished pieces I had written. This one seems good enough to be published as a one-shot, so here you go.
> 
> The music that Yuuri uses for his Free Skate is part of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRgBI0WqWp4
> 
> NB: I'm French, English isn't my native language, and this isn't betaed so you can expect some mistakes. If anything bothers you, please send me a nice comment with the correction.

Yuuri couldn’t sleep. He was so nervous that he couldn’t stay put in his bed. He had to get up, put on training clothes, and leave his bedroom. It was a nice room, in a nice hotel, but right now it felt like a prison cell before the death penalty.

He had done terribly at the Short Program yesterday and temporarily ranked last of the Grand Prix. He felt like he was just going to embarrass himself further tomorrow, for the Free Skate. 

He was a bundle of nerves and staying to mope around in his bed would only make it worse.

He went down to the hotel’s private gym. He was pleased to note that, as he had thought, it was empty. It was ten in the evening after all.

There was a free space in the middle of the room, between the treadmills and other pieces of equipment. Perfect to repeat his choreography.

After a quick warm-up, he put on his earphones, turned the music on, and pushed away all distracting thoughts to focus on the dance.

Here and now, with only the violin to carry him, he was at peace. Like the hobbits of the Lord of the Rings, he lived simply and happily with good food, honest work, and friendly company. Here, away from any prying eyes and competition, he could easily focus on that and his arms flew around him, raising high. 

Then come adventure, the change of life, the pressure, the attention, everything that made him insecure. He curled up on himself and tried to withdraw in his own little world.

But the universe had many things to show him and there were heroes out there who he wanted to meet, who he wanted to reach. Slowly, with the conviction that it was what he had to do, no matter the difficulty and the doubts, he uncoiled and rose higher than ever. He stopped with his hands reaching for the sky.

The sounds of the Shire quieted down in his ears, and he heard a slow clapping.

Yuuri jolted and removed his earphones as he spun around. 

A few steps away, leaning an elbow on a treadmill, Viktor Nikiforov was applauding and smiling. “Beautiful!” He stated in English with a strong accent. 

Yuuri was frozen in place, eyes wide and tongue stuck to his palate.

Unperturbed, Viktor stepped forward. “Katsuki, right? We didn’t meet in any of the events yet, did we?”

Yuuri shook his head from left to right jerkily. He had gone to Skate Canada and NHK Trophy, whereas Viktor had participated in the Rostelecom Cup and Trophée de France. They had never met before today. Even during the Short Program, they had barely crossed paths.

Yuuri had known that they were staying in the same hotel, though. He had had some fantasies about it, but this place was so big and they were both so busy and Viktor was so popular that they never had the opportunity to be around each other… Except that right here and right now, his idol was right in front of him, talking to him and even complimenting him! … He might faint.

“May I hear the music who moves you so much?” Viktor asked, holding out a hand toward an earphone.

“Ah, uh, s-sure!” Yuuri nodded and offered him the earphones before turning on the music.

After the first few notes, Viktor laughed. “Of course! How fitting!” He smiled at Yuuri. “This is your song for the free skate, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes.”

“I look forward to seeing you perform this on the ice!”

Blushing red like a tomato, Yuuri stuttered a shy “Thank you.”

“I’m sure you’ll do much better than the short program!” Viktor added with a bright grin.

Despite the sincerity of his idol’s comment, Yuuri wilted at the mere idea that Viktor was aware of how bad he had performed yesterday. It was the first time they were in the same competition and that’s what he would remember of Yuuri: a disaster.

“Ah, don’t worry, Katsuki,” Viktor quickly amended, patting his shoulder. “The last position after the short program isn’t so bad. After they’ve seen you at your worst, you’ve nothing to lose anymore, you can only surprise people! That’s a good thing!”

Close to a complete meltdown because his idol was  _ touching  _ him and encouraging him, Yuuri stammered: “Y-you think?”

“Absolutely! Surprising the public is my number one goal!” Viktor explained with a thumbs up and a wide grin. 

“A-alright.”

“Good luck for tomorrow!”

“T-thank you, senpai,” Yuuri murmured.

“Uh? What was that? Se-what?”

“Ha! I mean… That is… 'senpai' is a Japanese word, for someone older who… uh… is like a… mentor? someone they respect and look up to? But... ah, sorry, it just slipped. I won’t use it again!”

“No, I like it!” Viktor said cheerfully, catching Yuuri by the shoulders. “Now that you mention it, I think I heard other young Japanese skaters say it to me,” Viktor admitted, tapping his chin with his forefinger thoughtfully. “I always wondered… I thought it was something kinky!” He admitted with a big grin.

“WHAT?! NO!” Yuuri flailed around, entirely flustered.

Viktor laughed and watched him like he was the most entertaining person on Earth. “Is there something I should say in return when people call me that?”

Yuuri froze and replied carefully: “Ah… That is… if you feel like guiding them, you can call them kouhai… but you don’t have to do it for everyone who says it!” Yuuri added with a frantic shake of his hands, feeling awfully presumptuous for even suggesting it. 

Viktor hummed and leaned his chin on the back of his hand. “I see. Kouhai, right?” He repeated carefully. “I like how it sounds… I shall use it!” He decided cheerfully with a snap of his fingers. “So, my little kouhai, shall we take a picture? For good luck!”

“What? That’s… I… If… you want?” 

“Excellent!” Immediately, Viktor had his smartphone in hand and he threw an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders.

Wide-eyed, Yuuri had no doubt that he looked like a deer caught in the headlights in this picture but it was over and done with before he could collect himself.

A minute later, Viktor said goodbye, moved toward a treadmill, and put on headphones. 

The end.

oOo

Except that no, this wasn’t the end. Yuuri had a free program to skate! and his idol would be watching!

Oh, my God…

He had been so agitated after meeting Viktor that it had taken him hours to fall asleep. Their conversation had played in a loop in his head, between elation for amicably speaking to his idol and consternation for making such a fool of himself first at the short program and then by stuttering all the time. 

When he had some free time this morning, he checked his texts, expecting encouraging words for what was to come. He was surprised to discover another predominant subject:

  * **Phichit:** _OMG. This pic of Viktor and you is awesome! Your face is priceless! You lucky you!_
  * **Yuuko-chan:** _You met Viktor?! You talked to Viktor?! And he’s calling you his kouhai?! Sugoi! Congratulations Yuuri, you must be so happy!_



Minako’s text was comprised of mostly emoticons and finished in a threat about not disappointing his senpai and sensei. That wasn’t as helpful as she probably thought.

After that, of course, Yuuri had to check Viktor’s Instagram and assess for himself what an awful face he was making (it was horrible, mostly because Viktor looked as handsome as ever and the comparison was terrible) but, to be honest, he mostly wanted to read the caption:  _ “Training late. My little kouhai had the same idea! ♥” _

Celestino appeared over Yuuri’s shoulder and asked unimpressed: “Want to tell me why you were in the gym so late, Yuuri? Did you manage to sleep at least a few hours?”

Yuuri immediately confessed all his faults to his coach. 

Celestino sighed and patted his back. “Did Viktor give you any motivation or advice?”

“H-he said that I had nothing to lose in the free skate,” Yuuri recalled. 

“Well,” Celestino pondered as he tilted his head, “he’s not wrong. You reached the final, you’re an outsider and after the short program you can only do better.”

Except that he still could disappoint a lot of people: his family, his friends, his coach, himself… and now Viktor. Yuuri put his hands over his head and curled into a ball. Oh, God! He shouldn’t have talked to Viktor, now he felt worse! It would have been better if Viktor didn’t remember him at all instead of remembering him as the kid who failed the final completely despite his support!

Yuuri was still a nervous wreck when the Free Skate competition started. He was the last to pass and he lingered in the locker room while the others left. 

When he finally went to find Celestino, he heard two familiar voices speaking together and he stopped at a junction of hallways.

“I saw your picture of yesterday evening,” Christophe Giacometti was saying. “You seem interested in Yuuri, but his short was a mess.”

“I know,” Viktor replied airily, “but yesterday… there was something…”

“Something?” Christophe prompted. 

They were walking away, their voices becoming fainter and Katsuki moved to hear them better, his heart beating loudly.

“Something different about him. I like the way he moved.”

“You think he has a chance?”

“Ah… probably not,” Viktor admitted, “but I’d like to see him skate at his full potential.”

Rooted to the spot, Yuuri stared at his shoes unblinkingly. 

So, Viktor didn’t really think he could manage to catch up. Well, that wasn’t a surprise, he didn't say anything about the podium after all. He just told him to do better, to surprise people, and apparently, he just wanted to see Yuuri skate like he danced yesterday. That’s it.

Yuuri’s feet moved once again, carrying him forward as he thought. 

Really, Yuuri would need a miracle to close the gap and reach the podium, but maybe he shouldn’t think about  _ that _ . He was already at the final, for the first time of his career. Wasn’t it an accomplishment in itself?

There was a thunder of applause coming from the ice rink. It was Viktor’s turn. He was first after the Short Program. There was no doubt he’d get the gold tonight. Viktor loved the Free Skate, where he could surprise people as much as he wanted…

But how often did people surprise him?

“Yuuri?” Celestino called.

The Japanese skater looked up slowly and caught sight of his idol mid-jump. “I have nothing to lose,” he murmured.

oOo 

“As expected of our champion!”

Viktor grinned at Christophe when he welcomed him in the back room where the skaters and their coaches were waiting for the final results after their round of interview. 

“I didn’t see Cao Bin. How did he do?”

“Not good enough to beat Jean-Jacques. He had a bad fall. It seems the podium is already decided.”

Viktor hummed. He was turning toward his coach when the first notes of a tune he heard recently caught his attention. “Ah! It’s my little kouhai’s time!”

They converged toward the TV showing the ongoing competition.

“Yuuri Katsuki got a score of 79.36 on the short program, ranking last of the competition,” the commentator reminded them as the Japanese skater slowly started his choreography.

“Ah,” Viktor breathed after a few seconds, focused on the little smile stretching Yuuri’s lips.

“He’s very expressive,” Christophe said, understanding what his rival was thinking about. “It’s one of his strengths. Too bad the rest doesn’t follow.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Viktor said pensively, raising a hand to his chin and watching intently as Yuuri got ready for his first jump. 

“A triple toe loop…” The commentator warned. “Perfect form! And Katsuki follows with a series of absolutely breathtaking spins! He seems in really good shape today, compared to his short program!”

Viktor smiled slowly as Yuuri succeeded a Triple Axel - Single Loop - Triple Salchow combination. He could see it, the same emotion and intensity he noticed yesterday. It was riveting. There were small mistakes in the technique but they weren’t enough to distract from the whole. 

There was a lull in the middle of the program after a wonderful succession of jumps and a beautiful spin sequence. A respite during which Yuuri showed the full range of his interpretation, the conflicting emotions of a little hobbit torn from his home to go on an adventure… and then he threw himself in a step sequence as the rhythm increased again. His technique here was flawless, the steps looking fluid and effortless. 

“Amazing! Katsuki is showing the best he has to offer today!” The commentator was saying excitedly. “His program has been a success until now but the most incredible is that he has transformed his quad of the first half in a triple which means that… Yes! He’s keeping his quads for the second half! That was a very good quad toe - double toe combination right here!”

“That’s crazy,” Christophe whispered, “you can’t tell me that he’s going to do more…”

“I think he will, and he can,” Viktor replied thoughtfully. 

“That’s what you saw in him yesterday?” Christophe asked him, wide-eyed. “How? I’ve known him for years and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him perform so well.”

“It seems I caught him at the right time,” Viktor guessed as he admired the layback Ina Bauer filled with the captivating intensity of a hobbit fighting against a hostile word.

The room quieted down, focused on the unexpected performance, while in the ice rink, the public was clapping with the melody.

“Quadruple Salchow!” The commentator warned as Katsuki started a new jump. “Ah, that’s a touch. Oooh… nice, very nice!”

Viktor grinned as Katsuki incorporated his touch on the ice in his choreography, making it look like a voluntary choice to the amateur, showing them a hobbit falling and raising back on his feet. That showed a level of control of his choreography and interpretation as well as a calm faced with his mistake that was remarkable. 

The audience erupted in a thunder of applause.

“And the number of rotations was there! Now for the final choreographic sequence… such speed! He doesn’t look tired at all!”

oOo 

“Yuuri!” Coach Celestino looked ready to burst with pride, smiling widely, and catching his protégé at the gate with enthusiastic pats on the shoulder. “That was incredible! Your best of the season by far!”

“Thanks, Coach,” Yuuri said between panting breaths. He was squeezing a strawberry plush nervously, still in a daze and wondering if this was real and not a dream. Had he really manage that level of skating? He had been so focused… he didn’t remember ever managing such a calm headspace in a competition before. 

Celestino pulled him to the kiss and cry, where they sat to wait for the results. 

Yuuri was still in a fog and his coach had to remind him of the camera fixed on them. He gave it a tentative smile and a wave.

“Whatever happens now, Yuuri, I’m proud of you for what you did today,” Celestino with a squeeze of his forearm.

A bubble of happiness swell in Yuuri, and he smiled more naturally. “Thanks, Coach.”

“If you had managed that at the short program, the podium would have been yours without any doubt. As it is… you might have been a little too far to catch up.”

Yuuri nodded in understanding. He knew that. He wasn’t expecting to reach it but beating his personal best, like Celestino seemed to think he would, would be good enough. He just wanted to make as many people as possible happy and proud. 

“Ah, here it comes.”

They looked up to the screen showing the results and it appeared right under his name :

** Short Program - 79.36 **

** Free Skate - 199.83 **

** Total - 279.19 **

And on the right corner beside his name, his rank:  ** 4th ** .

Left gaping at the screen, Yuuri was swept into a hug by Celestino. 

“Your best score! You did it! Congratulations! You even beat Jean-Jacques on the free skate alone!”

Yuuri smiled at the camera and kissed his strawberry plush to show his thanks but as he left the kiss and cry, the only thing he had in mind was: “I hope Viktor was surprised.”

oOo

In another universe, having ranked last, Yuuri had few interviews to answer to, and he hid in the bathroom where he met a very angry Russian junior. He then proceeded to ignore his idol in the lobby and left for a highway to hell.

In this universe, he had far more interviews and more phone calls to answer to, far from the bathroom. Celestino dragged him back to the hotel as he spoke to Phichit.

It’s only much later that night that Yuuri saw Viktor again. Actually, Viktor saw him first and... glomped him in the middle of the hotel’s lobby, in front of the Russian and Japanese teams. He was shouting “Little Hobbit!” at full voice. 

Frozen in his idol’s embrace, Yuuri stared at his coach, who sighed and shook his head resignedly.

“Yuuri,” Viktor said in a voice that gave Yuuri shivers, “I’m glad you listened to my advice. You did very well today.”

Yuuri’s lips slowly stretched into a grin.

“Of course, there is still that free leg of yours,” Viktor started to make the list of flaws in Yuuri’s skating, immediately erasing his kouhai’s smile. “But I expect this will be fixed for the World Championship, right Celestino?” He concluded.

“W-what?” Yuuri stammered.

Viktor looked him in the eye and winked. “I’ll see you again in March, kouhai. Work hard.”

…

No pressure.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on dianamoth.tumblr.com (I'll publish shorter drafts there)


End file.
